


From Poisoned To Loved

by Akan_Abrun



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Falling In Love, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 04:31:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10779627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akan_Abrun/pseuds/Akan_Abrun
Summary: Short fic. Sarek was poisoned and brought to the Enterprise. Spock frantically comes up with a cure for him. Leonard is trusted to watch over Sarek throughout his recovery. Slowly they grow closer and closer.





	1. Jora's Kiss

Leonard worked quickly, hooking the blood bag up and jabbing a steady stream into Sarek's inner arm. The man's skin was almost too hot to touch, and moist with the threat of sweat. Leonard shook his head, calculating it all in his mind. It was all just adding to the list of symptoms. Slipping in and out of consciousness, rapid heartbeat, unstable breathing, small green rashes blotched on the arms and stomach, and nosebleeds. Those were just a few of the symptoms. Leonard could probably rattle on for days about the amount of strain that Sarek's body was putting itself through to heal.

And Spock tried telling him and Sarek didn't need a blood transfusion! Leonard was the CMO, damn it! This Vulcan needed clean blood at the very least!

They had been taking a routine visit to a nearby Starbase when Jim received a distress call from New Vulcan. Despite their incredible advancements in medical (and other) science on the new planet, they weren't readily equipped for Sarek's crucial circumstance. He had been poisoned on Legara IV while doing some ambassadorial business, the symptoms not having shown up until the Vulcan was back safely on his own planet. Even though they managed Sarek's condition at first, things only got worse as new symptoms were popping up like tribbles in a wastebasket. They didn't have a supply of T-negative blood, since it was so rare and the Vulcan population was dwindling. So hail the Enterprise they did, and taken on Sarek Jim had. Or, well, Leonard had.

He had the old man hooked up to a few different things that tested, treated, and maintained, but things weren't getting any better. He needed to figure out a cure for the poison running through the man's veins- so he ran more tests, taking small blood samples and urine samples and many other samples that he'd rather not speak of in broad (artificial) daylight.

Spock came in daily for several hours in order to 'assist' with finding a cure, but Leonard could tell that the longer Sarek stayed in his bad condition, the more stressed out Spock seemed to be. It came to the point where the man would just stare at a lab result for an hour before excusing himself.

"Spock. Get out, grab some grub, go to sleep." Leonard ordered, pushing Spock away as soon as the man entered his office. Right when he saw those dark lines around his eyes, the falter in his impeccable posture, and the glazed-over look Spock had, Leonard knew that he'd be more of a nuisance than a help that day. "I got it all covered today, so get!" He continued to push Spock away.

"I will remain here to work on the cure for my father." Spock said primly, plucking Leonard's hands off of him and beginning to walk to the table where all of the test results were. Leonard stepped in his way.

"Spock. You will be of no help to me or your daddy in this state, so you run along. Get a good meal in you and some sleep before I'll allow you to work." Leonard said, and when Spock wasn't about to budge, he glared and demanded, "Doctor's orders, Spock."

Spock looked at him with a very hard expression. He knew that doctor's orders outweighed most decisions on the ship, especially when it came to things like this. They've both used it against Jim a multitude of times when he was acting out.

"I see that it would be illogical of me to continue working here in this state. I will leave the responsibility of establishing a cure with you for today, Doctor." Spock told him quaintly before turning on his heel and waking out. Leonard glared after him, fuming, before sitting back down roughly. Damn self-righteous green blooded hobgoblin...

Leonard worked for several hours before sitting back and taking a little break. All the math and chemistry equations amounted to nothing, and nowhere in his biological knowledge did he find any sort of anomaly like this. He had no idea what ingredient or series of ingredients would work together to make something like this.

He got up off his sore ass and went to Sarek's biobed to check how the man was doing. He scanned him several times with his tricorder, even though he knew it would be the same each time. Not only was the man not breathing in enough oxygen, his heart kept beating so rapidly at strange intervals that it was going to wear itself out soon. Leonard didn't really like the prospect of surgery, but the way things were going he wasn't sure if he had much choice in the matter.

He reckoned it'd only a be a couple of days before Sarek met the Grim Reaper...

"Doctor!" He jumped when Spock came striding in, thrusting a PADD into his unsuspecting hands. "I have been researching any and all possible ingredients that may have been used in the poison, and I found one such flower that creates the exact symptoms that my father has- and according to the information below, there are more symptoms to come." Leonard was speechless as Spock explained quickly, and he looked over the information on the screen.

There were various pictures of a bright green flower with white speckles on it, that opened up into a beautifully deadly bloom. There were also pictures of what it caused. He stopped on the pictures of the rashes it procured, looking up at Sarek then down at the screen again.

"Wait. The rashes are exactly identical. But they look so... random. Is that how you knew it was this... Jora's Kiss?" Leonard remarked, wondering where they got the name from, and who exactly named the plant in the first place. He'd laugh if this wasn't a fatal situation. Spock nodded. "So is there a cure? An antidote? A treatment? Anything?" Leonard asked all at once, the questions tumbling out before he could stop them.

"There is a cure, however there have been no known cases of it being made in the past 259.7625-"

"Okay, I get it-"

"- years." Spock finished, and Leonard raised his eyebrows at the Vulcan.

"How in the hell are we supposed to-"

"As we speak we are warping to the planet where the Jora's Kiss is found." Spock interrupted again, and Leonard glared at the ill-mannered hobgoblin. "I have already discussed the situation with Jim, and he estimates our arrival upon the planet in 3.7 hours."

"I'll join the away team." Leonard decided, secretly wanting some time on a planet. Even if he was going to be dancing around some sort of death flower while he was there.

"No. Your place is here with Sarek." Spock ordered, causing Leonard to glare at him. The man was always pissing on his parade!

"Yeah, I guess if something goes wrong he'll need the best CMO around to help!" Leonard said self-righteously, crossing his arms and looking over at the unconscious Vulcan. He didn't add that he was also the ONLY CMO around. He turned back to Spock and said, "And please for the love of god get some sleep before you beam down to that damn planet!"

"I will return with samples of the flower as well as any test results that I may have at the time." Spock replied before walking out of sickbay. With the Vulcan coming in and out all the time, Leonard was beginning to get dizzy. He didn't much like it when people would just pop in on him like that, even if it was important.

"Doctor..." Leonard's heart nearly leapt out of his throat as he was startled when Sarek's weak voice came out of nowhere.

"You're awake! Been a while." Leonard remarked, leaning over the man. "Here, follow my finger with your eyes real quick. How're you feeling?" Sarek followed Leonard's finger flawlessly as it was moved around.

"Tell my son that I... cherish... him." Sarek murmured, his eyes starting to close again. Leonard tapped his cheek aggressively with his hand.

"Listen to me, I ain't no one's messenger boy. Tell him yourself. He was just here, I could probably catch him." He said sternly while glaring down at Sarek, whose eyes opened to look up at him.

"I may die very soon... I fear I may not have the opportunity to tell him. I am not strong enough to..." Sarek replied quietly, his tone of voice betraying his emotionless face. Even an old ass like Leonard could detect the sadness in the Vulcan's voice.

"Listen, Mr. Ambassador, your beloved son is on his way right now to get you a cure. So just shut up and answer my questions." Leonard ordered, glaring down at him. He has always had such good bedside manner. "Now, how are you feeling?"

"I feel... I am in much pain." Sarek answered before weakly holding up a hand. "And there is a tingling sensation manifesting within my hands."

"Where is the pain comin' from?" Leonard asked as he looked at Sarek's hands. It had to be neurological. That wasn't good.

"I feel pain... everywhere." Leonard looked at Sarek, briefly reminded of his dad before he died. He wiped the thought out of his mind; Sarek was not anywhere near similar to his dad. Leonard's dad was kind, funny, and although he was stern, he always made it clear that he loved his children. No, this Vulcan was nothing like the great David McCoy.

"I'll give you somethin' for the pain, but I can't give you much since there are tons of other chemicals coursing through you." Leonard explained, producing a hypospray and administering it. "Is anything else troubling you?" He asked, and Sarek hesitated before answering.

"... No. Thank you, doctor." He said quietly, and Leonard nodded.

"Well just let me know if you need anything." Leonard said, this time speaking with a kinder voice. Sarek nodded before shutting his eyes.

After all that was done, he went to check on other patients before heading back to his office. He wanted to read some more about that poisonous "Jora's Kiss" or whatever it was. He would have told Sarek that that was what had poisoned him, but he really didn't want him to go fretting about it.

\----

Both Spock and Sulu skillfully harvested numerous samples of the poisonous flower, and they studied its properties for several hours. They had enough so that Spock could run each small sample through different algorithms, working with different chemical compounds until something- anything- worked to safely neutralize the poison.

Meanwhile, Leonard and Jim stood in Sickbay.

"He hasn't been the same. I feel like I'm treading on thin ice when we're together." Jim said quietly, his arms crossed.

"Look, Jim, best I can do is prescribe some sleeping meds but I don't think he'll consent." Leonard tapped his fingers on his desk, trying to show that he really was sympathetic. "I think the only thing that'll get the big stick out of Spock's ass is finding the cure for his dad."

"You're probably right," Jim conceded with a sigh. "Can't believe they actually poisoned him. Vulcans have been trying to make peace with Legarans for years!"

"Guess they got sick of it. Wanted to give a bigger statement. Especially now that the Vulcans as a race are not as strong nor prominent as they used to be." Leonard said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. A part of him itched to go check in on Spock and Sulu, to see if they've discovered anything and to offer his assistance. But he knew almost nothing about botany, and he knew that they were going to be doing everything they could, so he concluded that he'd just get in the way.

"Shift's been over for a while. Wanna get some food?" Jim suggested, standing up from the chair.

"Yeah, sounds good. Be careful though or else I'll have to change your meal card again." Leonard smirked, and Jim glared at him.

"Hey, I like my carbs. They are essential for my mental health." Jim argued.

"Yeah, but so is being captain. And to be captain you must be in tip-top physical condition. Speaking of which, have you been slacking on your workout routines?" Leonard jabbed with a smile, making Jim deepen his glare. They walked off to the mess to have their evening meal.

\---

Leonard's comm woke him from his sleep. He answered it without opening his eyes.

"MmCoy... here." He grumbled tiredly.

"Doctor, meet me in Sickbay as soon as possible." Spock's voice demanded. Leonard sighed.

"Roger, boss." He replied, heaving himself up and rubbing his eyes before standing up. He cracked his back and made sure he was awake enough before leaving his quarters. There had been several occasions where he rushed out without properly waking himself up, which usually ended with him passed out in some hallway.

Leonard walked into Sickbay, seeing Spock standing next to his sleeping father. "Whatcha need, Spock?" Leonard asked, going over to them. Spock eyed him up and down before replying.

"I have found a cure for my father. I need you to administer it." Spock said, seemingly calmer and more exhausted than he'd looked before.

"Mm, y'don't trust M'Benga, hm?" Leonard said before yawning. Before Spock could reply, Leonard walked over to a sink where he washed his hands and put gloves on. "Gimme." He demanded, holding a hand out. Spock placed a hypo in his hand. "Side effects?" He asked, looking up at Spock with tired eyes.

"... I am unsure. It may cause muscular discomfort, exhaustion, and/or fever. Nothing extreme. But it will fight and defeat the poison." Spock said, looking sure of himself.

"And you're sure this is the correct dosage?" Leonard asked, wanting to make absolutely sure that he wasn't about to kill this man. In any other case he would've wanted to do more tests, to examine how this chemical mixture actually worked, but he trusted Spock and they were limited on time.

"Yes, Doctor." Spock said, obviously impatient. Leonard nodded, and administered the hypo to Sarek's neck. Spock exhaled, as if in relief.

"Now please get some rest, Spock. All we can do now is wait. I'll stay here overnight just in case, alright?" Leonard said, taking off his gloves and throwing them in a waste bin. Spock nodded before walking out of Sickbay.

Leonard sighed. He was also relieved, but all he wanted to do was sleep. He had only slept about three hours before getting woken up.

"Leonard!" M'Benga walked over with a smile. "What're you doing here? And in your pajamas no less." Leonard snorted and looked down at himself. He forgot that he was still in a t-shirt and sweatpants.

"Yeah, Spock wanted me to inject Sarek with the cure he made." Leonard said, rubbing his eyes again.

"Ah, I don't blame him. You know Sarek's situation much more than I do." M'Benga smiled before gesturing to a nearby biobed. "You can sleep here if you were planning on staying overnight. I'll wake you up if anything happens."

"Yes, god, thank you." Leonard said, relieved. "I am so tired." M'Benga chuckled as Leonard flopped onto a biobed and covered himself up.

He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

\----

Leonard woke up feeling very well rested. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, waking his body up. "Good morning sunshine!" Christine said cheerfully. "I would've woken you up when your shift began but you just looked so at peace. Even though you still glare while you sleep."

"It's past the start of my shift?!" Leonard sat up quickly, feeling panicky. He hadn't been late for his job or missed work in... in... had he ever done that?

"You needed the rest, Doctor." Christine said firmly handing him a cup of water. "Take your time. We don't have any patients and Sarek is stable and asleep. Don't underestimate my capabilities."

"I wasn't, I just... I've never been late." Leonard took a sip of water. "Thank you, Christine." He added with a small smile. She grinned back before walking off. Leonard looked over at Sarek. He did look better. Color was returning to his face, and he looked more peaceful in his sleep.

He was a pretty handsome man.

Leonard glared. What was he thinking?! He must've been tired still.

He heaved himself out of bed and returned to his quarters for his morning routine. He felt a lot better after a good night's rest.


	2. Beginning Recovery

"So... how long should he have been asleep? Because last time he was awake was twelve hours ago." Leonard asked Spock, who mulled it over.

"Vulcans enter healing trances while we are injured or ill, however..." Spock hesitated, eyeing Sarek. "My father has lost himself in meditation several times throughout his life."

"'Lost himself?'" Leonard echoed.

"I suggest that he be woken up every ten hours so that past events are not repeated. I will rouse him now, but please do monitor his rest while I am not here." Spock walked off without another word.

Damn Vulcans and their secrets.

Leonard wondered if Spock meant that Sarek got so caught up in meditation that he just didn't want to... come out. That's the only conclusion the doctor could come to. He sighed and walked to his office to get some work done.

\---

"Hey. Time to wake up, Sarek." Leonard said, patting Sarek's shoulder. The man opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Spock has told you to wake me regularly." Sarek inferred, and Leonard nodded.

"Yeah, he's been pretty worried about you. Don't blame him." Leonard said, putting a hand on Sarek's forehead. "You feelin' any better? It's been a couple of days since I put the antidote in you."

"I am better, thank you." Sarek said, and Leonard nodded. The man felt warmer than he should.

"You hot? Cold? Normal?"

"I do feel somewhat cold." Sarek replied, causing Leonard to sigh a little.

"Well, that means you got a fever. Drink this water. All of it." Leonard held out a cup of water, and Sarek sat up and took it. "Any pain or discomfort?"

"No. However I am in need of sustenance. And a shower." Sarek said before taking a drink of the water. Leonard nodded.

"Well lets go one step at a time. You finish that water and if you feel up to it you can use one of the showers here. Let me know so that I can escort you. Don't need you collapsing." He said, and Sarek nodded in understanding. Leonard walked off to program a meal card for Sarek.

He'd need Spock's input on this later, but for the moment he just chocked it full of nutritious, balanced meals. It might be good to wake Sarek for breakfast, lunch, and dinner just so that he can get an adequate amount of rest, waking time, and food intake.

After he was finished making a treatment plan for Sarek, he walked out to see said patient. "Feel up to a shower?" He asked after he saw the empty cup on the table, and Sarek nodded. "Alright, I'll help you then." He said as Sarek uncovered himself and swung his legs off the bed. He stood shakily at first, but firmed himself enough to traverse safely across the bay to the bathroom. Leonard walked by him to make sure his legs wouldn't give out from the sudden exertion. "Everything you'd need is in there, and you can choose to have a sonic or water shower. I'll get you some clean clothes, and holler if you need anythin'." Sarek nodded and disappeared through the door.

Leonard probably should've been more worried about letting a previously terminally ill man waltz into a shower by himself, but he trusted the Vulcan to know his own limits.

He grabbed some clothes that he thought would fit, making sure they would be warm enough for the Vulcan. Hobgoblins were more sensitive to colder temperatures, and Sarek's fever wouldn't help with that. With the clothes gathered in his arms, he waited near the door until he heard the shower turn off.

"I'm coming in," he said loudly, walking into the bathroom. He never really thought twice about seeing people naked, since it was a common occurrence for the doctor, so he hoped that Sarek wouldn't be uncomfortable with him in there.

The Vulcan had a towel wrapped around his waist and a toothbrush in his mouth. Leonard blinked at him. He didn't know what he expected walking in there, but seeing Sarek's naked torso and in such a vulnerable position...

Sarek finished brushing his teeth, so Leonard thrust the clothes into his arms. "You uh, can you be able to clothe yourself without help?" Leonard said elegantly, mentally cursing how badly he worded that. Why was he so flustered? And why wasn't he breathing?

"I believe I can handle dressing myself. Thank you, Doctor." Sarek replied, and Leonard nodded.

"Of course. I'll go get you some food so that you can eat when you come out." Leonard said, throwing himself out the door. He shut it firmly and took a deep breath. He stood there for a moment, collecting himself, before walking to a replicator.

He needed to calm the hell down. What even got him so flustered? Perhaps seeing Sarek in such a way intimidated him; he was an important Vulcan political figure, and the father of the Enterprise's First Officer.

It must have been intimidation.

\-----

M'Benga walked into Leonard's office. "I'm here to take over." He said, and Leonard nodded and stood up.

"I wrote some stuff down, but I'll tell you now in case you have any questions." Leonard said. M'Benga nodded. "I made a meal card for Sarek. Since you cover Beta you won't really need to deal with meal times with him. But he does need to be woken up at least every ten hours. I'll write down what time he falls asleep each day before I leave. If you wake him up, make him drink a glass of water. He's clear to get up, just make sure his legs don't give out, so watch over him." M'Benga smirked.

"Leonard, I'm a doctor too. I understand. It sounds like you're giving me instructions about how to care for your wife or something. He'll be fine." M'Benga laughed, which made Leonard glare.

"Alright, I'm just making sure I don't mess this up. Also don't forget to tell people in Gamma what I've told you." Leonard said before making his way out of the room. He was almost out of Sickbay before another thought popped up in his head. "Oh and make sure to-"

"I know, Leonard!" M'Benga interrupted, pushing him out of Sickbay. "Write down when he goes to sleep, make him drink water, wake him up after ten hours, I got it."

Leonard sighed and exited Sickbay. M'Benga WAS a practiced doctor. And he had more experience with Vulcans than Leonard. Sarek was in good hands.

\--

"Poker tonight. Bones?" Jim asked, taking a drink of his lemonade.

"Poker sounds great." Leonard replied as he stabbed his fork into the jiaozi that he was eating.

"Spock?" They looked over at the Half-Vulcan, who shook his head. "Come on, Spock. You don't even have to play, you could just hang with everyone."

"You do need a break." Leonard chimed in. Spock looked between the two men.

"I suppose I could attend." Spock gave in, causing the other two to smile. "How is my father?"

"Good. He's definitely doing a lot better." Leonard answered with a nod. "He has a slight fever and is still a little weak, and his body is working hard to recover. We've been wakin' him up every ten hours like you said. He even showered today."

"Good." Spock said, looking less strained. Jim smiled at Leonard. Leonard knew how Jim was affected by Spock's amount of stress. They were quite close. Almost... too close.

Which didn't bother Leonard in the slightest, of course. It would be good for Jim to have someone as responsible as Spock for a partner.


	3. Falling

Sickbay was so busy with a recent outbreak that Leonard had to stay overnight to watch over Sarek in a private, quarantined room. Sarek's body wouldn't be able to handle getting an illness, and Spock personally requested that Leonard be the one to watch over him while the staff tended to the other patients. Since he trusted his well equipped staff, Leonard was okay with this.

He sat next to Sarek's bed, in one of the more comfortable chairs that they had available. Both of them had eaten dinner together a few hours ago, and Sarek was now on his side sleeping. His back was facing Leonard, who was reading a book silently and sipping at some water.

He felt pretty peaceful. Honestly, it's what he would be doing in his own quarters if he was there at the moment. Leonard lived a very quiet life, which is what often prompted Jim to call him an old man. Sometimes Leonard himself believed it; he was about ready to retire and spend the rest of his days alone on some nice hot planet. He did like to party occasionally, but he surmised that those days would soon be over.

Sarek turned over in his sleep, and Leonard watched him. They were facing each other now. Sarek's expression was peaceful as he slept. Leonard let his eyes trace his features: the hard chin, strong jaw, traces of stubble, dark but elegant eyebrows, supple lips...

Leonard suddenly felt very warm. He didn't understand why he kept feeling such conflicting things around Sarek. He often forgot to breath, or felt warmer than he should have. Maybe Leonard was getting sick? No, he religiously checked his own health. He was in perfect condition.

The memory of Sarek's bare torso resurfaced. He was more muscular than Leonard had anticipated. His back was strong, and he had defined muscles on his front. Leonard wondered if the man exercised. He was certainly in good physical shape.

Leonard shook his head and continued to look down at his book. He needed to stop thinking about such things. He'd go crazy if he kept thinking about that sort of thing. Maybe he already was crazy...

\--

Leonard woke up, and immediately wondered when he had fallen asleep. He sighed, realizing his head was resting on something soft. He blinked his eyes open. His head was resting on Sarek's bed. Looking at the time, he saw that he'd only been asleep for about an hour. He pulled away, but Sarek reached out and gently grabbed his wrist.

"Do you need anything?" Leonard asked quietly, but there was no response from the other man. He must have still been asleep. Leonard looked down at Sarek's hand on his wrist. Maybe the Vulcan felt more comfortable knowing that someone was there with him? He was sure that he would have done this no matter who was watching over him. He laid his head back down and kept his hand on the bed so that Sarek could be in contact with him. He closed his eyes once more.

\---

"McCoy," Spock's quiet voice woke Leonard up.

"Yes, Spock?" Leonard groaned tiredly, blinking his eyes and sitting up.

"How long has my father been asleep?" He asked, and Leonard looked at the time. 

"Nine hours. Ish." Leonard answered, and Spock nodded once. He narrowed his eyes at his hand. Leonard looked to see that instead of Sarek holding his wrist, they were now holding hands. "Uh, he reached out to me in his sleep a few hours ago." He said awkwardly.

"... Indeed." Spock said, with the slightest frown that would've been undetectable by anyone other than Leonard or Jim.

"Why? Is that bad? Should I let go? Wake him up?" Leonard berated him with questions.

"I will wake him now. Would you grant us privacy?" Spock requested, and Leonard nodded. He tried letting go of Sarek's hand, but the man had him in a vice grip. He had to pry their hands apart before he could walk out the door.

He wondered what Spock was going to talk about with Sarek. He wondered if it was something bad.

\---

During lunch time, Leonard and Sarek ate together. They had been spending a lot of time together since Sarek's condition kept getting better. He needed constant surveillance and Leonard was the one that all parties involved trusted the most to handle him.

"So you practically just told them to fuck off?" Leonard asked, raising his eyebrows at Sarek.

"Essentially, yes. It proved to be successful." Sarek replied, causing Leonard to laugh.

"Man, I don't know how you got out of that one alive. Andorians are ruthless." He smiled, and Sarek nodded.

"Indeed. It was with great haste that I left their planet." He said, causing Leonard to chuckle and nod. Sarek took a drink of his water, and Leonard couldn't help but watch him. He watched his throat swallow, and his lips become wet from the clear liquid. Leonard clenched his jaw so hard his teeth hurt.

"Bones, I need you!" Jim announced out of nowhere, and Leonard sighed.

"I'll be back. Gotta tend to the kid." Leonard said, leaving Sarek. He made his way to his office where Jim was sitting. He sat down across from him. "What?"

"You and Sarek are interesting." Jim commented, and Leonard blinked at him.

"Uh, pardon?" He asked.

"You don't see it? What the hell?" Jim scoffed. "You guys are shooting hearts out of your eyes at each other! And acting all... lovey dovey."

"Hearts? Lovey dovey? The hell?" Leonard shook his head. "I don't know what you think it's going on, but Sarek is my patient. We've just been getting along."

"Spock told me about how you guys were holding hands. He seemed pretty confused about it." Jim laughed. "You don't have to hide it from me, Bones."

"I ain't hidin' nothin'." Leonard said sternly. "And the hand holding thing was just something that happened accidentally while we were sleeping."

"Bones. Listen to me. When you two look at each other, it's like you guys are the only two people that exist." Jim told him.

"You are delusional." Leonard argued. "Is this all you came here for?"

"... No. I came to let you know something. Spock and I are together." Jim said, looking slightly bashful now.

"Oh really? Took you two long enough. I saw that one coming a mile away." Leonard snorted, and Jim rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, I want you to break it to Sarek." Jim said, and there was a moment of silence where Leonard just blinked at him.

"I ain't no messenger boy." Leonard demanded, and Jim sighed.

"Hear me out, okay?" Jim pleaded. "Spock is too afraid of confronting his dad about this. I mean, not only his he getting with me- a human- he's getting with ME- a MAN. I mean I know he'd be kinda okay with it considering the whole IDIC thing, but homosexuality amongst Vulcans isn't a common thing. And I don't want to tell him about it because... I'll be honest, the guy scares me. He's like the Vulcan version of you. But scarier." Leonard scowled at him. "Anyway, the two of you seem to get along well, and you're not the one who's dating his kid, so... please, Bones."

Leonard mulled this over for a while.

"Fine. But if he tries to kill you, I'm not gettin in the middle of that." Leonard said, and Jim nodded grimly. They both stood and walked towards the door.

"You're a good man, Bones. It's been an honor serving with you." Jim joked.

"Oh shut up." Leonard rolled his eyes.

\-------

The next day, Leonard and Sarek sat together. After Leonard got done examining the Vulcan's health, he said, "So Jim and Spock are together."

"Together?" Sarek raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. They're in a romantic relationship." Leonard said, watching Sarek closely. The man's face portrayed zero emotion as he processed the information.

"... I see." He said, looking down at the cup of water in his hand.

"Are you... angry?" Leonard asked carefully.

"No." Sarek replied.

"They thought you would be. Which is why Jim begged me to tell you." He said, scooting his chair closer. Sarek met his eyes.

"I respect my son's decisions. Captain Kirk is a great man." Sarek said, and Leonard nodded. "It would be hypocritical of me to judge him in this situation."

"Hypocritical how?" Leonard asked. "You're in a relationship with a human male?"

"No." Sarek answered. "However... I do find myself emotionally invested in one man at the moment." Leonard didn't know how to react to that.

"Who?" He asked, but Christine yelled out to him.

"Doctor! Patient needs immediate attention!" She yelled, and Leonard stood quickly and ran off to her to help the patient.

Sarek's words weighed heavily on his mind: "I do find myself emotionally invested in one man at the moment."


	4. Fallen

Leonard tossed and turned in his bed. He'd been trying to sleep for three hours, but to no avail. He couldn't get his brain to shut up about Sarek.

He kept thinking about how Sarek admitted that he was interested in someone- a guy. And Jim's taunting about Leonard and Sarek being "lovey dovey" and shooting hearts out of their eyes and how they looked at each other like nobody else in the world existed.

Leonard couldn't help but wonder: did he like Sarek?

He didn't know how he'd managed to feel such a thing for a blasted hobgoblin that he barely even knew before this incident. He wanted to make up every excuse possible for their behavior, but he wasn't satisfied with excuses.

Leonard wanted to know who Sarek was interested in. And god damn it all to hell if Leonard's chest ached when he imagined Sarek saying some other name- recognizable or unrecognizable- that wasn't his own.

Leonard just imagined Sarek saying his name. "Leonard." His soft lips stretching and puckering to pronounce the name.

He bit his lip.

He was beyond help.

Leonard Horatio McCoy held a romantic interest for Spock's father. An ambassador for Vulcan. A man who was twice his age. A male manly man.

A green-blooded, pointy-eared, hobgoblin male who happened to be a political figure and the father of his friend.

He groaned into his pillow.

He was balls deep in horse shit.

Leonard may as well throw himself out the airlock. He entertained the thought before he began thinking of Sarek again. It always went back to him. No matter what he thought of or where he was, his mind always ventured back to Sarek.

He needed to see him. Talk to him. Touch him. Feel him.

Leonard really was batshit by this point.

Even more batshit was the fact that he was on his way to Sickbay without another thought. He at least wanted to see Sarek's face. Just to make sure that he was doing alright.

As a doctor it was his formal duty.

He walked into Sickbay, clad in his pajamas once more, but Sarek was nowhere in sight. He spotted M'Benga and rushed over to him.

"Where's Sarek?" Leonard asked, and M'Benga raised his eyebrows.

"Discharged him. He's on a shuttle now, you just missed him." The other doctor replied, and Leonard blinked at him in shock. "I'm kidding, Leonard. I did discharge him but he has a guest room on the ship. Room 112Y I think." M'Benga grinned, and Leonard shot a glare at him before leaving. That was why he and M'Benga didn't get along too well...

Leonard made his way to the guest rooms, and found 112Y. He chimed the door and waited a moment before it opened to reveal Sarek.

"Good evening." Sarek said, stepping aside. Leonard tentatively accepted the silent invitation, walking inside.

"You got your own quarters. I'm glad you're healthy enough to get out of Sickbay." Leonard said nervously.

"As am I." Sarek replied, walking over to stand in front of him. Leonard swallowed nervously. It occurred to him that he hadn't exactly thought this through very well. All he wanted to do was see Sarek. And now that the man was in front of him, he had no clue what to do.

"You never said who you were interested in." Leonard ventured.

"I did not." Sarek replied. Leonard swallowed again. He was about to ask who it was when Sarek put his hands on his chest. The Vulcan gently pushed him against the door, and Leonard's heart was pounding.

They leaned toward's each other until their lips met. Leonard put his hands on either side of Sarek's face, using one to snake through his hair. They deepened the kiss, Leonard's mouth submitting at the slightest caress of Sarek's rougher tongue. His entire body grew hot, and his heart pounded blood to his crotch.

Leonard gently pushed Sarek away before things got even more heated.

"I... apologize." Sarek said quietly, his face flushed green and full of emotion.

"Don't apologize. I just don't want to go fast." Leonard replied, and Sarek nodded.

"I agree." Sarek said. "Tomorrow evening. Dinner." Leonard smiled.

"Sounds perfect. I'll meet you here at 1900." Leonard said. He moved forward and kissed Sarek gently before leaving the Vulcan's quarters.

This was a whole new sort of adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this short little thing! It's helped me get through writer's block. :) I'll be updating my other stories very soon!
> 
> Please leave kudos if you enjoyed. :D


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